Dreams Redefined
by AML15
Summary: A Calzona one-shot, set after the events of 7x18  and referencing the discussion from 6x20 . Arizona's dream was always different from Callie's.


**I had this story in my head and decided to share. This is my first ever Calzona story, but probably not my last, so if you like this, let me know! *Set post 7x18* **

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><p><strong>Dreams Redefined <strong>

Arizona had never experienced a more beautiful day. It was sunny and warm on the beach and the sky was an impossibly deep blue with hardly a cloud in sight. This is what heaven must be like, she mused. The sound of waves crashing against the sand filled the air. It was peaceful. She glanced down at the sleeping baby sprawled out on her front side. She couldn't see past the mass of black curls on the top of her head to the tiny face, but she concluded that her daughter was still out for the count and rested her head back, closing her eyes once more. She savored the feeling of the tiny being snuggled so close against her, the sun on her face, the warm and satisfying breeze. Everything about today had been perfect. It was just the get-away she needed and had been bugging Callie about for months. Of course, realistically she had been expecting just a weekend somewhere close. They never went too far these days, but Callie had surprised her with tickets to the one place she had been dying to go.

"Mommy!" Arizona recognized Sofia's voice immediately and squinted her eyes open to find her. The little girl was running as fast as she could toward her, her long black hair flying behind her. "Come see our sandcastle!"

"Shhhh, you'll wake your sister." Arizona murmured.

"Come see it." Sofia begged in a quieter tone.

"I'm coming." She carefully cradled her daughter's head as she sat up. "Callie, it's your turn with the munchkin." Arizona handed one-year-old Sierra off to Callie, who was lying on the beach chair next to her. Callie took Sierra, who opened her eyes briefly before settling in with her other mom and fell back to sleep.

"Alright, let's see this sandcastle." Arizona reached for Sofia's hand and trekked along the beach with her energetic six-year-old bouncing along at her side. Not far from where Arizona had been lounging were the remains of a sandcastle and a very sandy little boy.

"Holden! You ruined it!" Sofia exclaimed when they had reached him. Three-year-old Holden looked from the mess to his sister to his mom.

"I sorry." He said quietly.

"It's ok, Sofia, we'll make an even bigger one." Arizona knelt in the sand and picked up one of the plastic kiddie shovels. Sofia seemed happy with this idea and forgot all about her brother's bad deed. She quickly pitched in and began to fill a bucket with sand. Holden was tired from the destruction of the first sandcastle and plopped himself in Arizona's lap.

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><p>"Look who's awake!" Arizona spotted Callie with a now wide-eyed Sierra on her hip coming towards them.<p>

"Sierra wanted to come play now that she's fully rested." Callie put Sierra down. The baby was too fascinated with sand to even try crawling. She just sat there grasping at it with her tiny hands. Once she had a fistful, she would slowly open her hand and watch the tiny crystals fall through her fingers. Sofia was still working hard at the sandcastle, but Holden, getting hot, began inching closer to the cool water.

"Stay where it's shallow." Callie warned him. He turned and looked at her with his curious blue eyes and then proceeded to stand where the waves could wash over his feet, clearing away the sand that had been caked on from hours of play. He turned around again and gave Callie a dimpled grin with his blonde hair blowing in the breeze. She couldn't help but melt at the sight of him, looking happy and full of wonder. The water rushed past his feet again and he started to stomp, causing the water to splash around him. He let out his loud belly laugh and began to skip around on the edge of the tide. Arizona was watching him now, too. After a moment, she looked over at Callie to find her wife watching her.

"What?"

"You just… look so happy. And beautiful." She said the last part in a breathy whisper for Arizona's ears alone and they shared a look that promised they could continue this moment later tonight when the children were asleep.

"So, is Spain everything you hoped it would be?" Callie asked, knowing that this trip was different than the one Arizona had pictured seven years ago.

"Better." She smiled. "All that's missing is my sangria."

Callie laughed. "Well, I'm sure something can be arranged." They shared another smile before Arizona turned her attention back to their son. He was in a little deeper than before, testing his boundaries like always, but the water was still below his waist. He had a shell in his hand that he was examining and Arizona watched as it slipped from his hand into that water. He bent over to get it just as another wave was coming. Arizona watched in horror as the whole scene unfolded. The wave came over Holden and suddenly he was gone.

"Holden!" She was on her feet and rushing towards the water, cursing the sand for slowing her down. Callie was just steps behind her. Arizona splashed into the ocean and spotted a glimpse of Holden's swim trunks. She reached down and grabbed what felt like either an arm or leg and pulled. He was up and out of the ocean, safe in her arms. He coughed up salt water, clearing his airway for a hearty cry.

"It's ok, Buddy. Mommy's got you. You're ok." She soothed, trying to get her own racing heart to slow as well. She and Callie walked out of the water where Sofia was waiting nervously. Sierra hadn't budged and her attention was still wrapped up in the pile of sand in front of her. Holden's wet little body clung to Arizona as if there was still a chance of falling back into the water and his lungs were still letting out a terrified wale.

"Ok, Sweetie, calm down. I know that was scary, but you're alright now. You're safe." The wind picked up and Holden began to shiver. Arizona was thankful that Callie had just come back with a towel. Callie unfolded it and Arizona pried Holden's limbs from her torso. She gave Holden over to Callie, who wrapped him up nice and snug.

"I think that's enough of the beach for today." Arizona said, picking up Sierra and shifting her over to one hip. Callie agreed and pushed Holden's wet hair out of his face. His crying had stopped, but his breathing hadn't returned to normal yet.

"Come on, Sofia. Let's pick up the toys." Arizona insisted. She and Callie gathered their gear and three little munchkins and headed back to the hotel. Their room had a balcony overlooking the ocean so once the kids had been washed up, fed dinner, and put into pj's, Callie and Arizona turned a movie on for them and took a pitcher of sangria out on the balcony and settled into two chairs to watch the sun set.

"Now _this_ is something I could get used to." Arizona sighed contently. She looked over at Callie and smiled. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Seeing you and the kids so happy and at ease made the long flight worth it." Arizona cringed at the mention of the flight. It had been so miserable traveling with three little ones that at one point Callie and Arizona shared a look across two seats that begged the question _what did we get ourselves into?_

"I have to admit, I'm not looking forward to the flight home." Arizona shook her head and took another sip of her drink.

As difficult as the flight had been, today was their first full day in Spain and with the exception of the little scare with Holden, everything had gone flawlessly. It reaffirmed in Callie's mind that this had been the right idea. She knew Arizona loved her and the kids, but every now and then, she liked to surprise her wife with little trips and time away from the kids that was just for the two of them. With three kids, Callie needed the time away just as badly. They had always stayed in the U.S., though. California was their most common get-away of choice, considering how close it was in addition to being sunny and beautiful. Yet Callie never forgot the sacrifices that Arizona made for their family. This trip was her way of letting Arizona know that.

She glanced into the room behind her to see Holden and Sofia passed out on their bed. Sierra was also asleep in her portable crib. She felt that familiar tug at her heart that she always got when she looked at the sweet faces of her children. They gave her life so much joy.

"Thank you for giving me my dream, Arizona. I know it wasn't always what you wanted." Callie said softly

"No, it wasn't." Arizona agreed, looking off at the horizon. "But when Sofia was born and she was struggling just to make it one more day, I'd never felt so much love and concern over one tiny life before. She was mine from the moment I first heard her heartbeat. I felt that undeniable bond that I still have with her today. That's when _this_ –" She gestured to the three sleeping babies, "became my dream as well." Callie saw that breath-taking smile grace Arizona's face and couldn't believe how blessed she was to have her. "I mean, don't get me wrong," Arizona continued. "Spain is fantastic! I just didn't realize how great it would be to take our children here. I loved seeing them find magic in everything they saw and touched." She giggled suddenly, causing Callie to wonder what she was thinking about. "Sierra forgot that anyone else existed. It was just her and the 1 foot radius of sand surrounding her." Callie laughed at the thought of their baby sitting on beach after Arizona had rescued Holden from the water. She was too absorbed in her own little world to notice that everyone around her had bolted to the ocean.

A small figure emerged from the doorway onto the balcony and Callie and Arizona turned to see Sofia was awake. "What are you doing up?" Callie asked the little girl. Sofia ignored the question and proceeded to climb into Callie's lap. "Mama, can I stay up?" She asked sweetly.

"For a little while longer." Callie told her, wrapping her arms around Sofia's small form and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. Sofia was facing Arizona and sent her a triumphant smile. She was such a petite little thing. Most people mistook her for being younger than she was, especially when Sofia was standing next to Holden, who was a solidly built little boy. Sierra showed no signs of being as tiny as Sofia either. It was just something that was unique to Sofia in their family. It reminded Callie and Arizona daily of how much of a tiny fighter she continued to be.

Sofia looked up at Callie with big brown eyes. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you, too, peanut."

"Hey, what about me?" Arizona teased. Sofia scrambled off of Callie's lap and launched herself onto Arizona, who stifled a groan as Sofia's knees landed on her. Sofia may be small, but she was bony. She threw her arms around Arizona and planted a hearty kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Mommy!"

She looked at Arizona expectantly, but her mom just stayed silent. "… Mommy!"

"Ok, I love you, too!"

Sofia grinned and snuggled closer, resting her head on Arizona's chest. Arizona's gaze swung over to Callie who was watching her wife and daughter with a look of wonder. Seven years ago, this life she had now was a distant dream. She never thought she would get here to this moment with Arizona, to be married to her and raising three kids together. Sure, there was a tri-parenting system with Mark for Sofia, but Holden and Sierra were only hers and Arizona's.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Sofia spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over the three of them. "Daddy said we need to bring him back something from Spain."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Arizona asked. Sofia giggled.

"Yep. He said since you were taking me away on his weekend that we better bring him something really nice to make up for it. Because he misses me."

Arizona was about to say something jokingly about Mark, but stopped after Sofia's last sentence. "Yes, your daddy does miss you a lot when we take you on vacations without him."

That was another thing Callie was grateful for; the way Mark and Arizona had buried the hatchet after Sofia was born. It certainly made the combined effort of raising their daughter so much easier. The two still had their moments of childish bickering every now and then, but they had both come to respect each other and recognize that all three of them only wanted what was best for Sofia.

The three of them feel silent once more as the sun disappeared over the ocean, leaving them with a breath-taking view of the blue sky streaked with orange and pink. It was the perfect end to their first day in Spain. The rest of the week promised to be just a beautiful and momentous for their family. One thing was for sure, this was going to be a trip that Callie and Arizona never forgot because they were finally living both dreams.

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><p><strong>Reviews are greatly appreciated :) <strong>


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